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Ravens linebackers coach Zach Orr is a native of Loudoun County, Virginia, roughly 80 miles from his current place of employment in Owings Mills, Maryland. He grew up as a Redskins fan, the son of former NFL tight end Terry Orr who played in DC for 8 seasons and is a two-time Super Bowl Champion. Zach spent his formative years in DeSoto, Texas, graduating from DeSoto High School before moving on to the University of North Texas and their Mean Green football program. Orr wasn’t highly regarded by NFL scouts. He went undrafted in 2014, eventually signing with the Ravens where he played for three seasons. Orr was primarily a special teams ace during his first two campaigns in Baltimore. But during his third season in Charm City, Orr seized an opportunity to start beside C.J. Mosley at inside linebacker. Lacking ideal size and speed, Orr relied on preparation and keen instincts while contributing 133 tackles in 2016, eventually being named a 2nd-team All Pro by the Associated Press. Zach’s timing from a career perspective, was as spot on as he was when filling gaps in Dean Pees’ 3-4 defensive scheme. Free agency awaited and it was time for Orr to cash in. Or so we thought. Orr was born with a rare spinal condition. His C-1 vertebrae, the one located at the top of the neck, just below the skull, was not fully developed. Medical experts warned that the wrong type of impact could force the vertebrae to explode and potentially result in death. Zach had no choice but to retire at the age of 24. read more: https://russellstreetreport.com/2022/06/09/lombardis-way/orr-2/

I like every North Texas fan was elated to hear of Zach's potential return to the league. I can only imagine the way too premature end to his bright career was a difficult pill to swallow. It stung all of us deeply. It was not fair. I do want to make one point of clarification very clear. If there is even a tiny chance that his return to this brutal game could cause any type of long lasting injury I would hope he would walk away.

Rick Gosselin had a nice write up on Zach Orr. Can't wait to see him play on Sunday. http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2016/11/18/meet-north-texas-linebacker-become-ezekiel-elliotts-biggest-hurdle-sunday?f=r

Nice article on Zo with a UNT mention. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-tied-for-12th-in-nfl-in-tackles-ravens-linebacker-zachary-orr-starting-to-make-name-for-himself-20161020-story.html Nice quote here: "Coach John Harbaugh said people will soon learn about Orr, who is tied for 12th in the NFL in tackles and tied for first in fumble recoveries. “I told him the other day he’s making a name for himself in this league,” Harbaugh said. “Everybody is watching the tape, and they know who [No.] 54 is for the Ravens right now. That’s what you hope for guys. He’s really come through.”" Keep it going, Zo!

Zach Orr just put the game away with an INT against Jacksonville! He also led the Ravens in tackles today. Glad to see Zach continue to do big things at the NFL level.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14892900/baltimore-ravens-release-lb-daryl-smith Ravens release Daryl Smith who was starting ahead of Zach. From the story: " Smith was the team's leading tackler in 2015 but showed signs of slowing down toward the end of the season and started sharing playing time with Zachary Orr. " " Smith made over 120 tackles in each of his three seasons in Baltimore. The Ravens will look to Orr, Arthur Brown or Albert McClellan to replace Smith, or they will address this void in the draft (Baltimore has the No. 6 overall pick and could use it on UCLA's Myles Jack). " Arthrur Brown was the sole reason the Mean Green lost to KS St in the Fouts Field finale back in 2010, but he hasnt done much in the NFL. Don't even know who McClellan is... Seize the opportunity Zach!

Zach looking to take more snaps from Daryl Smith alongside CJ Mosley in Baltimore. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-zachary-orr-aiming-for-starting-job-in-2016-even-if-daryl-smith-is-back-20160118-story.html

I have not seen this posted yet but I might have missed it. If you haven't already, take a look at the Baltimore Raven's "Wired" episode featuring our own Zach Orr. This is encouraging and I hope he continues to impress and becomes a solid starter linebacker for many years to come. We were lucky to have him in Denton. GMG. http://www.baltimoreravens.com/videos/videos/Wired-Ep-15-Zachary-Orr-Micd-vs-Chiefs/dd7a7f06-9e6a-4f05-b0cf-5a0b72575283

Click here to view the article

Read more: http://www.csnbaltimore.com/blog/ravens-talk/ravens-hope-more-luck-undrafted-class

Two of the best linebackers in recent North Texas history met just a few weeks ago during the Mean Green’s spring game and the festivities that surrounded it. Cody Spencer was back in town to be inducted into the UNT Athletic Hall of Fame and met Zach Orr, who followed in his footsteps during his career with the Mean Green. The hope for UNT is that the parallels between the two will continue sometime in the next few days during the NFL draft. Spencer began a his five-year NFL career after being selected in the sixth round of the 2004 draft. UNT has been waiting for its next player to be selected in the draft ever since. Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20140507-football-expectations-run-high-at-unt-for-nfl-draft.ece

I went by UNT’s Pro Day this morning and picked up a host of information and even some video. There were 20 scouts in attendance in one of the bigger turnouts in recent years. There were a lot of familiar faces in terms of scouts, former players and coaches on hand. Former UNT players Lance Dunbar and Craig Robertson were there. Former UNT player, assistant coach, recruiting coordinator and all-around good guy Bruce Bell was on hand. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/04/unt-pro-day-times-notes-and-thoughts-video-coming.html/

UNT fans will be talking about the Mean Green’s win over UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl for years. The win — and the Mean Green’s breakout season in general — changed the course of the program. We will share our thoughts on how over the next few weeks/months. Before we do, we ought to stop to consider the legacy of UNT’s senior class. We wrote about it quite a bit in the days leading up to the Heart of Dallas Bowl and in the wake of UNT’s win in the paper. What we haven’t done is talk about it much on the blog — a place where we can be a little more opinionated. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/01/the-biggest-winners-in-unts-bowl-game-unts-seniors.html/

UNT will quickly turn the page from Conference USA media day over the next week or so. Practice will start, and with it, there will be a whole new set of storylines with players who are moving into the two-deep and injuries that could impact the roster. We will talk about the race for the starting quarterback job — and we’ll talk about it a lot. The point that linebacker Zach Orr brought up that I didn’t delve into beyond mentioning it is that UNT is loaded with seniors, and they are not just minor contributors. Orr might be the best linebacker UNT has had since Cody Spencer, who was the last player the Mean Green had drafted in 2004. Brelan Chancellor is arguably UNT’s best playmaker. Derek Thompson hasn’t played at an all-conference level yet at quarterback, but was solid last year. By UNT quarterback standards that makes him look like John Elway, considering some of the guys the Mean Green has run through there since Scott Hall graduated in 2004. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/07/orrs-comments-raises-the-argument-is-this-a-make-or-break-year.html/

his is part of a series spotlighting the players attending C-USA Football Media Day, July 24 in Dallas. Interviews from the event will be streamed live on ConferenceUSA.com. North Texas joins Conference USA this fall looking to making its mark on the league and take the next step forward by returning to postseason play. The Mean Green will have eight returning starters on defense to help that cause, led by senior LB Zach Orr. The all-conference performer is coming off a 108 tackle season in which he also had a pair of interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries. 35 ZACH ORR, NORTH TEXAS Senior LB 6-1 223 (DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto) 2012: Orr was named second-team all-conference in 2012 after recording a team-high 108 tackles....It was a career-high for Orr and the first time in his career that he topped the 100 tackle mark....The 108 tackles were the third most for North Texas since 2006....Had 3.5 tackles for a loss and two interceptions on the year....Orr had two PBU's, two fumble recoveries and one QBU on the year....Orr had six games of double-digit tackles in 2012...Had a season-high 12 tackles in the win over South Alabama ....Led North Texas with 11 tackles against Arkansas State....Orr had one of the key plays against Louisiana-Lafayette with his second interception of the season....Had nine tackles in the win over Louisiana-Lafayette, which led the Mean Green defense.... Had a season-high 12 tackles on the road at Houston.... Orr a team-high 10 tackles against Florida Atlantic, including one tackle for a loss....Orr had his second career interception in the game against Troy, to go along with 11 tackles.....Had nine tackles against Kansas State. Orr had four tackles against Texas Southern....Recorded 10 tackles against LSU. Read more: http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/071613aaf.html

IRVING, Texas — Sixteen representatives from the Conference USA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) volunteered Friday morning at the North Texas Food Bank. The group made the visit as part of their annual meeting at the C-USA offices and led the conference's continued efforts to become the best Division I-A collegiate conference in athletics, academics and in the community. Members of the SAAC group and their advisors split into two groups and helped sort produce for needy families. By the end of the shift, NTFB Director of Corporate Engagement Elizabeth Liser told the group they had boxed more than 300 containers, weighing 12,000 pounds and providing 10,000 nutritious meals. Following the work, the group received a tour of the North Texas Food Bank facility and learned how they could best execute their annual campus food drives as part of their "Let's SAAC Hunger" campaign held each fall. Conference USA student-athletes in attendance included: Natalie Capone, Charlotte Softball Jill Jelnick, East Carolina Softball La'Shae White, FIU Track & Field Amanda Odato, Florida Atlantic Women's Soccer Mary Kate Hays, Louisiana Tech Cross Country Zane Gibson, Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball Zach Orr, North Texas Football Ashley Betz-White, Old Dominion Women's Basketball Christal Porter, Rice Women's Basketball Dasman McCullum, Southern Miss Football Brian Lozes, Tulane Cross Country (National SAAC Rep) Amber Bennett, Tulane Volleyball Michael Mudoh, Tulsa Football Kaycee Ike, UAB Football Hunter Nix, UTEP Football Eric Soza, UTSA Football Read more: http://www.goutsa.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13100&ATCLID=208671064

While we love to bash on Dodge for all his failures, one really sticks out to me is Dodge's overhaul of JUCOs, particularly in his 2010 recruiting class when he was given that 4th year. Even though those JUCOs are now gone or didn't pan out, we are left with 11 of the 12 high school players from that class. These high school players are (classifications for next year): Seniors - Zach Orr (4-year starter, probable 1st-team all-conference pick this year) - Will Wright (4-year contributor, started games in multiple years) - Aaron Bellazin (4-year contributor, 5 sacks this year) - Richard Abbe (4-year contributor, started games in multiple years) - Brelan Chancellor (4-year starter at returner, 3-year starter at wide receiver) - Brandin Byrd (4-year contributor, leading rusher this year) - Zach Olen (4-year starter at kicker) Redshirt Juniors - Antonio Johnson (4-year starter, potential all-conference honors) - Mason Y'Barbo (4-year starter, potential all-conference honors) - Derrick Teegarden (4-year special teams contributor, provides depth at wide receiver) - Blake Dunham (3-year starter at long snapper) While these players are not all all-conference players or even starters, the fact that over 90% of these guy are still here for their fourth year really speaks a lot towards Coach Mac, who didn't even recruit them. It goes to show that even if you are only getting two-star and occasional three-star players, as long as you are able to develop them and keep them at your school then you will have a chance. This senior class, plus the five 2009 class redshirt seniors (Thompson, Boutwell, Jackson, Prior, Anyiam) and walk-ons that have had successful careers and, in some cases, earned scholarships should provide for a solid senior class next year to go along with a solid core of underclassmen.

The Mean Green feel like they have an advantage up front because of sophomore left tackle Antonio Johnson (6-foot-6, 311 pounds), sophomore left guard Mason Y’Barbo (6-2, 309 pounds) and sophomore right guard Cyril Lemon (6-3, 321) – all in their second year as starters. They’ve been working as a group since March 2011 at the start of spring ball and were the big reason why North Texas had two 100-plus yard rushers in last Saturday’s 34-7 win over Texas Southern. Brandon Byrd had 142 yards on 24 carries and Antoine Jimmerson had 139 yards on 15 carries – the first time over 100 yards for either running back in their North Texas careers. The Mean Green rushed for a total of 350 yards in the win. The North Texas offensive line has yet to allow a sack this season – and that’s including a 41-14 loss to LSU in the opener. “I assume LSU has some pretty decent defensive linemen,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said. Read more here: http://blogs.kansas.com/kstated/2012/09/12/looking-at-north-texas-offensive-line-linebacker-zach-orr-history-with-k-state/#storylink=cpy